Crypto gambling in the Metaverse is catching on. Both casinos and gamblers benefit from using cryptocurrencies for betting and avatars for poker faces. And all of that is possible thanks to reliable and secure blockchain technology.
There is no Metaverse yet but there are clear winners of the emerging technology already. Crypto casinos and their users are the first type of users who feel all the advantages of the Metaverse.
Yes, crypto gambling is still nascent.
But it has begun to pull in some impressive numbers already.
Casinos use blockchain to effectively run all the gambling processes. While gamblers are really happy to be able to try any poker face in the world. Because, you know, avatars nowadays are so varied. Choose any one you like. And sometimes you can even use NFTs as avatars, which is absolutely amazing.
You can also bet with cryptocurrencies and NFTs. This is equally convenient for both casinos and gamblers.
You don’t have to take care of those bank card validations and all the legal issues with fiat money withdrawal.
It doesn’t matter if the guys who run the casino are from Ukraine and the player who has just won the jackpot is from Japan. He might have bet ETH but will be withdrawing BTC to his anonymous wallet.
So everybody is happy with crypto gambling. Or not?
Let’s find out.
What is the Metaverse and what has crypto gambling to do with it?
The Metaverse is a concept that has been around for quite a while. Since the 1990s, to be precise.
But it has started to become a thing only since Mark Zuckerberg stated that Facebook is changing its name to Meta marking the transition from the social network to the full scale virtual world.
Yes, the Metaverse is supposed to be a virtual world in which we interact socially with others through avatars.
We could go to a concert, to a restaurant, to an art exhibition, all while using virtual reality headsets and other technological tools.
Of course, we could go to a casino too. Why not?
And here is the catch. Even at the early stages of the Metaverse casinos already seem to reap the most benefit among all the industries trying their hand at virtual worlds.
How big is the Metaverse?
Well it is rather small as of now. But it is evolving fast. And the expectations are just enormous.
In the beginning of 2022, JPMorgan Chase predicted that the metaverse will likely infiltrate every sector of the world economy in some way in the coming years. The market opportunity is estimated at over $1 trillion in yearly revenues.
Every sector means gambling also.
I mean crypto gambling, of course. Crypto gambling is the next generation of what we know as online gambling. The latter grew dramatically with the Covid-19 pandemic.
There is nothing surprising about that. Millions of people were locked at home with plenty of free time, high speed internet and loads of energy.
Who could benefit from that the most? Of course, porn industry and online casinos!
Now that the pandemic is kind of gone, millions of people are already used to gamble online.
And now the Metaverse is taking the next step into a virtual casino experience.
No, there isn’t one and only Metaverse yet which would fulfill all the dreams of sci-fi writers or Mark Zuckerberg. There are different platforms that compete with each other. And the avatars aren’t even close to what your imagination creates when you think of virtual worlds.
But there are hundreds of thousands of users already. And the Metaverse market is valued at $200 million at least.
What is crypto gambling in the Metaverse? Do they have legit casinos there?
Well, they do.
A crypto casino is basically an online betting platform with all transactions processed in cryptocurrencies. That is in fact a decentralized gambling.
Gamblers who enter the Metaverse crypto casino can find their favorite games, including blackjack, roulette and baccarat. They can even roll the dice in a cryptocurrency crap game. And of course, you can simply spin lucky slots in the crypto casino too.
Traditional casino games, especially poker, are currently the most popular in the metaverse casinos. And anyone who has access to cryptocurrency can participate.
Why are crypto gambling and metaverse casinos so attractive?
It might sound surprising but crypto gambling is very much like cryptocurrencies. In regards to basic principles and philosophy, of course.
High levels of transparency, privacy and security are the chief merits of crypto gambling. Blockchain is the main driving force of the crypto world and metaverse casinos are no exception.
Take betting, for example.
In the real world you always need some kind of an intermediary or a third party – some bookmaker or a betting house to place a bet for the next boxing match.
But in the crypto casino you can use peer-to-peer matching of bets.
This substantially lowers the cost of betting, removing needs for a broker. And, of course, it is clearly also more private than a physical betting house or a casino.
You are betting with a smart contract and get paid to your crypto wallet if your bet wins.
It’s that simple.
What’s also important is that all bets are recorded on blockchain. It makes betting more safe. Because it is always easy to prove that somebody did have that winning bet.
Many of the issues that gamblers often have with traditional online casinos simply do not exist in the world of crypto gambling.
What are the pros of crypto gambling in the Metaverse?
Crypto gambling is nascent, but some of its merits are now more than obvious:
- Security. Blockchain is very secure, so it is highly unlikely that hackers could interfere the gambling process, steal data or somebody’s jackpot;
- Privacy. Blockchain stores the data securely. Nobody is able to see who you are, what country you are in, what games you prefer, what bets you make and what wallet you withdraw your wins to;
- Lower fees. Peer-to-peer bets and decentralization allows for lower fees and thus makes crypto gambling more accessible to many players all over the world;
- Freedom. You can gamble, make bets and withdraw assets no matter what country you are from. Even if you live in the country where gambling is frowned upon or even totally restricted, you can play in the crypto casino.
- Crypto vs Fiat. You don’t have to convert your money into some different currency and use a suitable bank card to play online. For crypto casinos all you need is crypto. Most casinos in the Metaverse accept the most popular coins like BTC or ETH. But even if you want to gamble in a crypto casino that requires some special tokens, you can easily swap your crypto for those tokens in a matter of just a few clicks.
What about the taxes in the crypto gambling?
Well, taxation is not the main subject of this article. As well as the philosophical discussion about rights and wrongs of gambling online with cryptocurrencies, that are not legal in many countries yet.
But in order to give you the whole picture we have to stress a few points.
Crypto gambling is similar to regular casinos with the difference that bets are accepted and winnings are rewarded in cryptocurrency only.
Winnings are not taxable. Unless you voluntarily pay taxes in your country as you would do with any other crypto operations.
Let me get this straight. Did you pay taxes from that profit you had received last year when the BTC you had been helding had risen from $20,000 to $69,000?
No matter what your answer is, it’s the exact answer you are looking for with crypto gambling.
There is no way the tax office is able to learn you have just bet $1,000 in BTC while playing poker in the Metaverse. As well as there is no way they will be after you when you suddenly win $100,000 with that bet.
At least until Mulder and Scully find a way to follow you in the Metaverse, of course.
But let’s be honest with each other. Some of us think paying taxes is something every citizen should do. So it’s up to you after all.
All you have to know is that unlike the situation with legal casinos in the real world the taxation of your crypto gambling winnings is absolutely voluntary.
Are there any examples of successful crypto casinos in the Metaverse?
Yes, there are some stunningly beautiful examples of crypto gambling businesses in the Metaverse.
We will not go through all the crypto casinos out there, because there are so many of them now. Here are just a couple of them.
Crypto gambling in Decentraland
Let’s start with Decentraland, the Ethereum-based virtual world that is one of the first and most popular implications of the Metaverse.
There is a crypto casino in Decentraland. It is unsurprisingly called Decentral Games.
And as all the other crypto gambling institutions it doesn’t have a gamvling license. But that is not an obstacle for countless gamblers who like spending time at Decentral Games.
The most popular part of Decentral Games is ICE Poker. It’s a free metaverse poker game where players earn tokens by completing daily challenges and competing against each. ICE Poker recently introduced weekly virtual events with live DJs and video streaming support for background ambience within its poker venue. It’s a virtual world after all.
There is a daily leaderboard. It clearly shows that at least 200,000 gamblers visit ICE Poker every day.
That’s roughly a third of the total number of Decentraland’s users.
Decentral Games founder Miles Anthony has said that it has 1,000 users playing poker at any given time. ICE Poker has brought $7.5 million revenue in the first quarter of 2022.
ICE Poker is a free game, but it has an in-game currency (ICE) that can be traded for other cryptocurrencies. Players can also use ICE to buy wearables for their avatars. The wearables include shoes, jackets and money shades.
Even if you suck at poker, at least you will suck being well dressed.
A 100% provably fair crypto casino
There is one more Ethereum-based casino that proves how far crypto gambling can go.
Take a look at EarnBet.io. It runs on BET tokens, their own ethereum variation, and their website claims they pay out 100% house profits to BET token holders every day.
The website also claims EarnBet is 100% provably fair, because all bets are recorded on the blockchain. So you can always prove that, yes, that jackpot is definitely yours.
Every bet placed gives users BET tokens, which allows them to receive dividends in several cryptocurrencies, including BTC and ETH.
Despite being a crypto casino EarnBet.io uses a quite old fashioned way to attract gamblers. The website greets you with the huge announcement about free $50 in BTC that will be paid to you once you have completed registration and deposited $100 in a token of your choice.
A true crypto casino would allow you to make bets in multiple cryptocurrencies, right? So with EarnBet you are able to bet BTC, EOS, ETH, XRP, LTC, BCH, WAX and BNB. All deposits and withdrawals are made instantly. You always maintain complete control of your funds.
As for the games, you can find all the ‘usual suspects’ here, such as blackjack, baccarat etc.
Legendary Atari goes virtual too, entering crypto gambling
Last year video game pioneer Atari founded its blockchain division to leverage the rich opportunities of cryptocurrencies in the booming games industry.
The primary goal of the new division is to establish and further develop the company’s cryptocurrency. Yes, Atari has its own crypto now, the Atari Token (ATRI). It is based on the Ethereum blockchain. It shouldn’t surprise anyone who has read all the above.
Atari, a true pioneer of video games, is building its own Metaverse on the with unlimited space and potential games including Atari casino and NFT collection.
Each user gets an avatar to enter and explore the Metaverse and the casino.
The games that will be live upon launch include blackjack and poker, as well as numerous slots. All the bets are made in ATRI. And if you win you will be able to withdraw ATRI to your Atari wallet.
Sources: The Street, DataDrivenInvestor
